In Pursuit Of Maine: August 21, 2015 - For Kindness

Friday, August 21, 2015

August 21, 2015 - For Kindness

There’s only one reason something like this is done, and that’s kindness. Somewhere someone decided to do something nice. It would have been easier to just put some flowers in along the edge of a house or a fence. It would have been easier to just plant a lawn and mow over the area. It would have been easier to ignore it altogether. It certainly would have been more practical to plant fruit and vegetables.

Kindness.

But that’s not what someone did. Whoever it was, thought about it. She went out and found an old antique bicycle that she thought really had some style to it. Then she found the perfect baskets and lined them with peat moss and attached them to the bicycle. Then she filled the baskets with dirt, bought some flowers, and planted them. During the times when there was not enough rain, she snuck down to the baskets and watered them. She made sure no weeds were growing in them. She made sure everything was stable and strong.

Then the flowers grew and exploded into color along the side of an old country road, where not many people go. And for what? What could possibly be the reason to do this kind of planning and work? Kindness. The love of beauty. A gift.

Driving down an old country road, my thoughts awash in all the troubles of the day, someone gave me a beautiful little gift that I can never repay. Do kind things for one another, whether it’s flowers, food, music, or a smile. These gifts are priceless and will last in the heart of the receiver long after the actual act is done and gone. Be kind.

"The Plain Maine Cookbook" is my own collection of vintage Maine recipes that will immediately bring you back to a simpler time, a less confused time. These recipes are more than just comfort food. They're family food, traditional food, simple food, plain food. One bite and you'll say, "Ah, yes! I remember my grandmother used to make this. I had forgotten all about it!" Recipes for whoopie pies, funnel cakes, fried fiddleheads, haymaker's switchel, coffee can bread, glogg, and much more are in these pages. There is even a recipe on how to render lard. So open the door and go back to some simple, time-tested foods you can prepare easily. You'll find that you save money and waste less by "making do" with commodity cooking. What's in the pantry or in the garden is what's for dinner.

"So You Want to Move to Maine" is an invaluable little book in helping people to make a permanent move to Maine. It will save you a ton of time because all the initial footwork is done for you, including 100 links on how to find work and living quarters, getting your driver's license, pet requirements, programs for people with disabilities, programs for senior citizens, getting married in Maine, hidden taxes and expenses, hospitals, health insurance, handling a real winter like a pro, etc. Stop being "just a number" or another face in the crowd. Walk away from the rat race. Become boldly individualistic and make your mark in life. You can still do that in Maine, one of the last holdouts of ordinary, old-fashioned, kind, and decent American living.

I’ve chosen 37 unique fairy tales that will be loved by both adults and children as they can be read and interpreted on many levels. But if you are looking for only sweet tales that end in joy and fairness, you may want to pass this book by. Some fairy tales are simply “dark,” and that is because sometimes life is simply dark. Not always, of course, but often enough. Sometimes the hero lives; sometimes he dies. Check out my book, “Fairy Tales of Maine,” in the photo link below. If you are brave, you might just meet yourself in one of these tales.